


Day 342

by Josh_the_Bard



Series: A Year in Kirkwall [342]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 08:48:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27967820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josh_the_Bard/pseuds/Josh_the_Bard
Series: A Year in Kirkwall [342]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1589257
Kudos: 1





	Day 342

Hawke leaned against a wall, blood, sweat, and ichor dripping down every inch of his body. The fight against apostates took three days. Three days of intense fights in the deepest darkest holes of Darktown. He would probably have to burn his robes when he got home, the smell of burning hair and shit would probably never come out and it would be cruel to Bodahn to ask him to try.

Hawke’s head pounded from the magical strain he had put his body through. Since the templars have moved in on the Alianage he had probably consumed more lyrium than an entire dwarven house could mine in a year. He was starting to hear a faint ringing in the back of his mind.

Maferuff was collapsed at Hawke’s feet, sleeping happily. The Mabari had earned his weight in crunches when they got back. The poor thing had been burned, frozen, and electrified and had probably swallowed an entire mage’s worth of flesh in the course of the battles. When they made it back to the Hawke estate, he intended to sleep for an entire week. If the city decided to end in that time, then so be it. Frankly it sort of deserved it as this point.

Knight Captain Cullen came over and leaned against the opposite wall to Hakwe and the two men stared at each other for a bit. The templar was just as covered in filth as Hawke and had been fighting just as fiercely.

Cullen pulled a vial from his pocket and downed it. The blue tinge to the corners of his mouth told Hakwe the templar was not having a shot of whisky to celebrate their victory. Well, partial victory. With all the confusion during the battles, it was foolish to think that they had caught all the apostates.

“Well fought Champion,” Cullen said. “I am heartened that you fight just as fiercely against your own kind as you did with the Qunari.”

“My own kind?” Maybe it was the exhaustion, but there was something in the templar’s tone that unnerved Hawke.

“You have continually shown yourself to be everything Andraste knew mages could be,” Cullen continued. “One who takes his duty of service seriously. I wish more felt the same. The would would be filled with much less suffering that way.”

“Those that fight for freedom do do in response to your actions,” Hawke replied. He was being bolder than was wise but he couldn’t help himself. “How much to the mages in the Circle suffer under your ‘care’”

“A half truth,” Cullen retorted. “Any limits we put on the power of mages would be resisted. The magisters rage against their own laws in the Imperium. Ask those we rescued today if they think the templars are too severe; ask the people of Redcliff. Those that are left anyway.”

“I have no illusions about the dangers of magic,” Hawke said. “I also know the only reason I’m free now is because the city would have fallen without me. Mages get locked away until the moment you need us. Then we cat hauled out to save your asses from the dangers of the day. Fereldon, Redcliff included, only survived because of the mages that fought with the Wardens.”

The last pretense of friendliness evaporated from Cullen’s face now and he began aggressively cleaning his sword. Hakwe might have taken that to be a threat if both men didn’t know exactly how a fight between them would go.

“It’s easy to claim mages were necessary now that the war is over,” Cullen said, eyes never leaving his blade. “But do not forget how the Blight was started in the first place. If we balance the lives saved by mages against those killed, I doubt it would paint you in a favorable light.”

The template pushed off from the wall and, from the look in his eyes, Hawke half expected the man to attack. Instead, he stormed off, back to the Gallows probably. Hakwe let the man have the last word today. They had spent three days fighting against innocent people whose minds had been robbed from them by magic and his arguments rang a little hollow even to Hawke’s ears today. But a much bigger fight was coming, Anders was right about that at least. Hawk could feel it building and he knew that when it finally kicked off, the magic in his blood had already picked his side for him. He just hoped there were enough mages left when that day came.


End file.
